1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical connection device using a terminal connector for establishing an electrical connection between tab or tab-shaped terminals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A terminal connector is used hitherto for electrically connecting a bus bar to a male tab terminal of a fuse, a relay or the like in an electrical junction box. Such a terminal connector is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-58-27845 (UM).
The disclosed terminal connector is formed of a thin planar member of an electrical conductor which is bent at its both sides into the form of an arch thereby forming a pair of arch-shaped resilient contact strips opposing an electrical contact base.
A bus bar is bent at right angles at one of its end portions to form a tab-shaped terminal. This tab-shaped terminal of the bus bar is inserted from one direction into the space between the electrical contact base and the arch-shaped resilient contact strips of the terminal connector, and a mating male tab terminal of, for example, a fuse is inserted from the opposite direction into the internal space of the terminal connector to establish an electrical connection with the tab-shaped terminal of the bus bar. Because the tab-shaped terminal of the bus bar makes direct electrical contact with the male tab terminal of the fuse, a satisfactory electrical connection therebetween is established.
However, in the prior art terminal connector having the structure described above, the size (the width) of the male tab terminal of the fuse inserted into the space between the electrical contact base and the arch-shaped resilient contact strips of the terminal connector must necessarily be selected to be smaller than the width of the terminal connector. Therefore, the prior art terminal connector has been defective among others in that it is difficult to use this terminal connector in common to, for example, a blade type fuse and a fuse of the type standardized by the International Organization for standardization (ISO).
In an attempt to overcome the defect of the terminal connector referred to above, another terminal connector has been proposed. Such a terminal connector is disclosed in, for example, JP-B2-60-11588 (UM).
The disclosed terminal connector is formed of a thin planar member of an electrical conductor which is bent at about the middle to provide a generally U-like structure. This U-like structure is bent inwardly at one of its end portions to form a resilient contact strip, and its other end portion providing an electrical contact base is bent at its both sides inwardly to form a pair of arch-shaped contact strips similar to those of the prior art example described already.
A male tab terminal of, for example, a fuse and a mating tab-shaped terminal of a bus bar are inserted between the resilient contact strip and the electrical contact base and between the electrical contact base and the arch-shaped resilient contact strips of the terminal connector, respectively.
The latter example of the prior art terminal connector is advantageous over the former example in that the width of the male tab terminal of the fuse can be freely selected. However, in the latter terminal connector, the male tab terminal of the fuse is electrically connected with the mating tab-shaped terminal of the bus bar through the electrical contact base of the terminal connector. Therefore, the latter terminal connector has been defective in that, when those terminals do not make sufficient electrical contact with the electrical contact base, an undesirable increase in the contact resistance accompanying generation of considerable heat occurs, resulting in impossibility of establishing a satisfactory electrical connection.